The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance

Over the last 18 months, we have received a lot of feedback from members and supporters that something needs to be done to hold the flame to Len Brown and Auckland Council’s culture of waste. We’ve been doing our best from here in Wellington, but the time has come for an Auckland-based group dedicated to holding the Super City to account.

This morning the Taxpayers’ Union’s newest initiative – the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance publicly launched. The Ratepayers’ Alliance will stand up against Auckland Council’s wasteful spending, poor financial mismanagement, the proposed rates increases and the new taxes the Council wants to introduce. The group has very similar objectives to the Taxpayers’ Union, albeit focused just at the Super City. You can read more about the group’s plans at www.ratepayers.nz.

Our purpose is to hold Auckland Council to account. With 130 spin-doctors the Council is very good at side-lining the concerns of neighbourhood ratepayer groups. By combining forces, this new group will shine the light on those wasting ratepayers’ money.

Traditionally it’s been the business and property groups that have stuck up for fiscal responsibility within Auckland’s local government. Unfortunately most Auckland business groups are now heavily reliant on ratepayer money and find it difficult to bite the Council hand that feeds them.

Note that the ARA is not a party or a ticket. It will never stand candidates. It’s job will be to fight wasteful spending and large rates increases, no matter who is running the Council.

Old.Mickey.Blue.Eyes

fernglas

I will be annoyed if Penny Bright tries to have a say on this thread; she has single handedly cost the ratepayer many thousands of dollars with her inane and ineffectual posturing, but contributes nothing.

Good, I hope I have provoked her so I can go back to the Standard and leave your discussion to be ruined by her equally uninsightful posts.

tf78

Something is missing here, don’t voters elect councillors to oversee spending and act at all times within the mandate they ask for.
I do not ever recall a candidate for office pledging to ignore the wastrel behaviours of others and indulge in such destructive activity themselves.
Of course good socialist allocating of OPMs will benefit us all, NOT.
Anyway it is OK when they do it, right

peterwn

Aucklanders concerned with left wing spendthrift local politicians need to do something about it themselves and not demand (as Cam Slater has) that the National Party should do something about it by promoting candidates.

As a counter to the blatantly socialist recently established organisation, the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance, I will be forming a group which honestly represents the moral and ethical standards of the cream of Auckland society. We will be calling ourselves the Real Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance.
Join us outside the Auckland City Council buildings where will we holding a prayer session for our property, after which we will be burning an effigy of an Islamo-fascist participating in sexually deviant act with an effigy of the abomination, Len Brown – following which we will be joining once more in prayer for our property.

mikemikemikemike

Out of interest, is it only Aucklanders that can join? I often find it amusing that most people outside Auckland (who often have their hand out for the money coming from there) want to have a say in how it is run when they chose (rightly or wrongly) the people who were going to run it for them.

There is already a forum for the majority of Auckland to have a say, we call it an election. This was the logic that was presented when people (including DPF) were saying National had a mandate to sell assets and the same logic should apply when choices are made that are not so popular.

The problem, in my opinion, is that Auckland Council and CCOs are not being held accountable to the ‘rule of law’ regarding their statutory duties to ensure ‘open, transparent and democratically accountable’ local government.

FACT.

Why has Jordan Williams (Tax Payers’ Union) told me to ‘pay my rates’ and blocked me from commenting on the Tax Payers’ Union Facebook page – when arguably I have done more than anyone in the Tax Payers’ Union to highlight the lack of transparency at Auckland Council, and Auckland Council have, in my opinion, tried to effectively ‘neck stamp’ me as an anti – corruption whistle-blower?

Why is Jordan Williams effectively backing Auckland Council against me – when I am fighting for transparency in Auckland Council spending?

FYI – I have emailed Jo Holmes – Spokesperson for the Auckland RatePayers’ Alliance, and am happy to discuss with her, information of which she may not be aware regarding citizens and ratepayers LAWFUL rights regarding transparency in Auckland Council and CCO spending.

Great points, Penny. The Real Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance demand more transparency and the Auckland City Council and that it drop its demand that evidence against it should no be heard in its court proceedings against transparency activist Penny Bright. We look forward to the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance joining us in our support for greater council transparency.

hmmm …… I recall the Residents Action Movement (RAM) equally claiming that they had no intention of becoming a political party…..

In my view, it is highly likely that this Auckland RatePayers’ Alliance, will eventually become a political organisation that will either stand candidates in the Auckland Council election in 2016, or endorse certain candidates.

In my view – this is because Citizens and Ratepayers have become largely discredited as an organisation which genuinely represents Auckland citizens and ratepayers.

tranquil

Steve (North Shore)

The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance thread has been hacked to bits by the usual troll who has the cheek to comment whilst not paying Rates for many years.
Don’t you get it Penny, this Alliance is for people who have paid, not fucking bludgers